Am I crazy for doing this on a 65 Barracuda ?

[mygasser]

there's nothing like a heavy metalflake paint job to hide some body imperfections, lol.
neil.

 

[Kemper]

The clips in the stainless moulding were junk and rusted into the moulding . Kinda hard to get out but managed to without any damage . Some clips broke and some were close to it from the rust . I cleaned up and polished the moulding and with no clips I was able to lay it on the car and make sure it sat nice and it did. I found some clips and ordered them. They are 3/4 inch round but will work fine as they are the proper size (1/4 inch ) to go in the holes. Hard to find the square 3/4 square clips.
Cleaned and installed the bumper rubbers .

Checked out the other quarter which is in rougher shape and somebody did a bad repair with aluminum ( think bottom of old storm door ) and fiberglass. I was glad to see that the trunk extension wasn't damaged much and this will make the repair a lot easier.

 

[Kemper]

Before moving to the other quarter I cleaned out and treated the rear " door panel " area under the side window. This was clogged up with dirt and rust and drain hole was not present . There was a lot of debris in here. Put panel, armrest and window crank back on. " In the car or on the car "

 

[Kemper]

I took the moulding off the passenger side and it is in good shape . The clips aren't and they are rusted in to the stainless. Sprayed with WD40 and let it sit. They'll slide down and out or break . I'll clean all the rust out of the inside of the moulding by wet sanding some WD40 as I did the other side.
The clips need to slide freely in this piece and instead of a clip it takes a threaded bolt that slides in there on the mount closes to the tailight. When in the right place to line up with the tailight this gets tightened down with a nut from inside the trunk. Someone previous broke one of these and painted over it. I won't look too hard for one and will probably just use a clip there also if I don't think the molding will slide around.
I'm going to cut some pieces of foam weatherstrip, put a 1/4 inch hole in them and stick to body to make sure they are in the proper place . This will make it easier to install and will seal better than sticking over the new clips .
I found some round clips that seem like they will work. You can probably find something at the auto parts store also. I want this to be as easy to remove as the original . Your clips may be in better condition . On this type of build you can take care of this stuff as you go and not worry about rust running out on your work.

Area under moulding on car looks bad , but caught it in time . This is why you don't let them sit and deteriate and make excuses to do nothing or to do very little .

 

[Kemper]

This kinda got drug over into a different thread and I didn't really want that , but carry on.

To get back on focus here - You may wish to do any thing I post here differently, but keep in mind this is an economical build for someone that either can't afford or does not want to put their money in an expensive build but want to preserve their car, get it looking good and getting all the original parts back on.
There is an in between area between what I post and what someone would do in a more expensive preservation or build. That's fine and I'm not suggesting anyone not do something they can afford and want to do.

However if you have no alternative to what I post, that stays within an economical build where money used for something won't be available for something else, you're not encouraging people to not let their car sit there and rot. That is my attempt as well as doing this car the way I want to.

 

[Kemper]

Someone said while talking about this build that you can't use fiberlass resin and mesh in these small holes as I did before filling with fiberglass. Said my stuff shouldn't be used on metal blah, blah.

Here is what the manufacturer says about the product -
" The resin bonds to metals, and hardens to a sandable surface in less than two hours. "
" The seal created by the polyester resin material is permanent, waterproof and will not shrink. "

Choose your source if you have any concerns.

 

[Woody500]

It does work, but their definition of permanent is just ad speak.
Moisture will continue to encourage any remaining rust & it can only last so long. Rust will swell up & blisters will reappear. It all depends on usage, storage etc.
A dry location like Arizona it will last a lot longer. Or rarely driven stored in a/c would help, of course.
Fillers can be added to Epoxy Resins' like Gougeon Brothers West System that absorb much less moisture. You have to mix in 'Fillers' to make a bondo type material. They are marine products.
Many fillers can be used, for various properties and some such as Silica, are very hard to sand. Microballoons(plastic) being a much easier to sand soft filler, still can absorb moisture. Glass beads a little harder & less absorption.
Graphite can be added for a slick surface, such as racing boat bottoms. Athletic field marker, a powdered Limestone absorbs no water, after curing, but is very hard & not hand sandable.
I'd think newer fillers are available that I don't know about. Different hardeners are available for different temperatures, and a 'Slow' hardener for higher temp gives a longer working(green) time. Working(filing, etc) filler while green is necessary, like too much hardener in poly bondo.
Bottom line it would last a while longer, but is more expensive & there is a learning curve.
Sun exposure will degrade the resins, is why Polyesters are always used for most fiberglass. Sealing(epoxy paint)can prevent moisture absorption, but backside can't be sealed & will be absorbed more anyway.
Sealing rust after Ospho(rust converter) does help retard degradation.
No fillers are permanent.

 

[Kemper]

It does work, but their definition of permanent is just ad speak.
Moisture will continue to encourage any remaining rust & it can only last so long. Rust will swell up & blisters will reappear. It all depends on usage, storage etc.
A dry location like Arizona it will last a lot longer. Or rarely driven stored in a/c would help, of course.
Fillers can be added to Epoxy Resins' like Gougeon Brothers West System that absorb much less moisture. You have to mix in 'Fillers' to make a bondo type material. They are marine products.
Many fillers can be used, for various properties and some such as Silica, are very hard to sand. Microballoons(plastic) being a much easier to sand soft filler, still can absorb moisture. Glass beads a little harder & less absorption.
Graphite can be added for a slick surface, such as racing boat bottoms. Athletic field marker, a powdered Limestone absorbs no water, after curing, but is very hard & not hand sandable.
I'd think newer fillers are available that I don't know about. Different hardeners are available for different temperatures, and a 'Slow' hardener for higher temp gives a longer working(green) time. Working(filing, etc) filler while green is necessary, like too much hardener in poly bondo.
Bottom line it would last a while longer, but is more expensive & there is a learning curve.
Sun exposure will degrade the resins, is why Polyesters are always used for most fiberglass. Sealing(epoxy paint)can prevent moisture absorption, but backside can't be sealed & will be absorbed more anyway.
Sealing rust after Ospho(rust converter) does help retard degradation.
No fillers are permanent.

Good information . I think what I'm doing will be fine to preserve the vehicle, but it doesn't hurt to take extra precautions if someone want to do so.

 

[Dartswinger70]

Are you crazy? yes we all are. You know I had a 69 Coronet 500 in 1989 the car was 20 years old had issues. I was working on it on e Saturday, my uncle walks in says is it worth it?" no its never worth it but we do it anyway. and you know I think these cars were ok would have lasted 20 years with proper maintenance but people didn't take care of cars back then. A car was pretty beat at 17 to 20 years old.

 

[Kemper]

Are you crazy? yes we all are. You know I had a 69 Coronet 500 in 1989 the car was 20 years old had issues. I was working on it on e Saturday, my uncle walks in says is it worth it?" no its never worth it but we do it anyway. and you know I think these cars were ok would have lasted 20 years with proper maintenance but people didn't take care of cars back then. A car was pretty beat at 17 to 20 years old.

You're right people didn't take care of them . Nowadays they pretty well run or they don't though and you don't have to keep everything adjusted which helps them burn cleaner. But, expensive to fix and harder to diagnose problems without the right equipment.

 

[Dartswinger70]

You're right people didn't take care of them . Nowadays they pretty well run or they don't though and you don't have to keep everything adjusted which helps them burn cleaner. But, expensive to fix and harder to diagnose problems without the right equipment.

This is true . I had one with a lean code bank 1 on a v6, replaced both O2 sensors then narrowed it down to a faulty injector. The thing is yes I needed a scan tool but the rest was just a process of elimination etc. And that can get costly especially if paying a mechanic to do the guessing etc.

 

[Kemper]

I painted the grill area with some all surface latex satin I had . Looks good enough . I didn't take this grille out but a person might want to. I had no bumper on the car when I painted it though. Waiting on parking lights.

 

[Dartswinger70]

Aren't the left and right grills cast or something and hard to find ? It looks good by the way

 

[Kemper]

Aren't the left and right grills cast or something and hard to find ? It looks good by the way

They are not real hard to find but they take a beating especially on the top flat edge that shows when the hood is open. Water seems to set there and that area is usually pitted. I have a set I did some experimenting on by sanding that top edge and spot puttying it . Once it was very smooth I put some chrome tape on it. Nice sharp edges to cut the tape against and can't really tell it was taped.

 

[Kemper]

Got my 25 dollar free shipping gas cap in from ebay. Guy's uncle had a service station and people would forget to put em back on.
This puppy is nice original and looks like it was barely used. Some marks on handle but probably from being kicked around over the years . Has original paint and I'll just have to wet sand a little.
Also got some 3/8 thick by 3/4 inch weatherstrip to make seals for clips under quarter panel top trim .

 

[Woody500]

I painted the grill area with some all surface latex satin I had . Looks good enough . I didn't take this grille out but a person might want to. I had no bumper on the car when I painted it though. Waiting on parking lights.

View attachment 1716447407

Looks good. & without those lights looks better to me! I had 6 or 8 sets of grills with no good turn lights. The lights look too big to me, so I sold them all & bought a slightly bent 64 Valiant grill & straightened it. Valiant TS lights mount in valance(have 3)
It will look good w/car in flat black paint & gloss black rims. I Have 5 sets of bumpers to pick from
What your doing gets you on the road a lot sooner than many, including me. And it is ready to sell if you decide to.
Great job w/repairs 'as needed'.
Acrylic Latex lasts a lot longer in the sun, is sold for outdoor use & therefore is more waterproof.

 

[DC 340]

I found some round clips that seem like they will work. You can probably find something at the auto parts store also.

Layson's should still have the correct reproduction of that clip for the quarter panel upper trim. I bought some not too long ago. #GZ-88148. Here's a picture of the clips. Still requires your own seal method.

 

[Kemper]

Layson's should still have the correct reproduction of that clip for the quarter panel upper trim. I bought some not too long ago. #GZ-88148. Here's a picture of the clips. Still requires your own seal method.

View attachment 1716447484

I couldn't find them in their catalog because to use the search feature you have to pick model and year first and they don't show up.
I think it's because it is a special order part that they make.
Web search shows this -

" When ordering, please provide top dimensions of the clip that is attached to moulding and hole size in the panel. "

I'll keep that in mind if the ones I bought don't work. I don't know how anyone finds these clips fpr sale in their online catalog, but I wasn't able to.

 

[DC 340]

I couldn't find them in their catalog because to use the search feature you have to pick model and year first and they don't show up.
I think it's because it is a special order part that they make.
Web search shows this -

" When ordering, please provide top dimensions of the clip that is attached to moulding and hole size in the panel. "

I'll keep that in mind if the ones I bought don't work. I don't know how anyone finds these clips fpr sale in their online catalog, but I wasn't able to.

I believe I became aware of the PN from Rick, a member here, and a great guy that works at Layson's. I think he's been gone a while now for health issues. I hope he comes back and wish him the best. Yes, their website is a challenge. Call them if you want these clips.

 

[Kemper]

I believe I became aware of the PN from Rick, a member here, and a great guy that works at Layson's. I think he's been gone a while now for health issues. I hope he comes back and wish him the best. Yes, their website is a challenge. Call them if you want these clips.

I wish him the best also.

I looked at their catalog before buying mine elsewhere. I couldn't find them in their catalog and even with the part number I can't locate them in their catalog as I said before. Calling them does seem like the best way to go but I don't see why anybody would expect them to have them since they can't be found in the online catalog. Anyway, good to know.

 

[Kemper]

I was checking out the other quarter today. It's going to be a bit difficult. I'll get out my angle grinder and cut out the bad metal. Trunk extension is good and solid to a certain point . I believe the " bullet " is metal but will know more when I get the previous fiberglass off.
Someone used a storm door panel for a patch, riveted it in and used a bunch of bondo over it.

 

[Kemper]

I've been working on that rear quarter pictured above. PITA but I got patience. Having to fix the trunk floor extension and get the contours of the exterior just right.
I have a pair of parking light/turn signal lenses coming . 60 dollars to my door. They have some " minor " issues but will be fine on this car. My bezels shined up nice but my lenses were too bad to put on unless I couldn't find others.

 

[Kemper]

I have parking lights ! I found a set of used lenses for 60 bucks to my door. These are hard to find in good condition but they make repos . They'll cost you about 225-250 bucks to your door, but they look nice.

My bexels cleaned up nicely and I washed and detailed the lenses. My old gaskets were dried out some and showing some cracks. I took my finger and wiped some Dynaflex230 caulk over them making sure I had no build up. Just fill the cracks and wipe off all excess down to smooth and let dry.
The guy sent some used round gaskets with them but they don't have the ears like the originals that make sure they don't slip in where you would see them through the lenses. My old one's were sealed tight to the bezels and lenses will seal tight against the Dynaflex. ( It's the little things that count )

Got some new amber bulbs from Oreilly's . The old ones had yellow paint on them that was peeling. These new ones from Sylvania have tinted glass and are much better. Taking a break from the rear quarter today . PITA but if I had to do it again it would be a lot easier. I'm in no hurry and I want to get it protected and looking nice , dealing with a trunk floor extension,wheel well, and exterior body metal all coming together and parts of them long gone and just an empty space out there makes it a challenge. Especially when the body panel curves in 2 different ways in that area.

 

[DC 340]

... Taking a break from the rear quarter today . PITA but if I had to do it again it would be a lot easier. I'm in no hurry and I want to get it protected and looking nice , dealing with a trunk floor extension,wheel well, and exterior body metal all coming together and parts of them long gone and just an empty space out there makes it a challenge. Especially when the body panel curves in 2 different ways in that area.

Reproduction stampings of a rear lower quarter exterior panel patch, an exterior wheel well contour patch, and I believe a trunk floor extension were previously available for the 65 Barracuda. You may want to research availability.

 

[Kemper]

Reproduction stampings of a rear lower quarter exterior panel patch, an exterior wheel well contour patch, and I believe a trunk floor extension were previously available for the 65 Barracuda. You may want to research availability.

Yes, I know. I have new panels for another car. This is a no weld preservation and something I'm doing to show an alternative to letting someone's car further deteriate without spending the money and time it would take for a more " professional " job.

I'll give an update since I'm here -
I'm trying to keep as much of the original metal in the car as I can while still being able to treat rusty areas and seal them from further harm.
So far until this quarter the amount of bondo/missing metal is approx. the size and thickness of your phone.
I'm only showing what I'm doing and not trying to persuade anyone from doing what they want.

As shown in post# 71 this quarter has some serious issues. The wheelwell , trunk floor extension and body panel all come together at this point . Everything was gone to a certain extent. I used some lighter metal from Menards that I was able to cut with tin snips . I believe it is 22 gauge. I wanted metal on all exterior edges so I " replicated " the original contours and also have metal wheelhouse to screw moulding to . This molding has damage and I will replace but using it to check contours.
Sheet metal installed and the 2 connectors have provision to attach screening .

Rust reformer applied . The seams where metal comes together will be caulkes and coated with undercoat from the out side.

Screening set in place . This whole area will not be filled with fiberglass . It's a thicker area than what it appears out in the center area. Around the wheel opening it will probably get filled up back to a certain extent as well as certain amount of the area along the bottom of screen. The " bullet " area has a little bit of fiberglass from a previous repair but is tight so I'm gonna cheat a little and not mess with it . I cleaned the area where the screen sets against on the inside top and will fiberglass the screen to body sheet metal from inside the trunk. I'll put about 1/4 inch of fiberglass over the screen from inside the trunk. When the fiberglass is applied over the screening I want about 1/4 inch of fiberglass on both sides of screening .